A painting by a student participant of the Pearl Coalition‘s Visual Arts Program. Each young artist conducted their own research to determine the truth behind the stories about the Pearl escape.

This summer, on August 1st, local non-profit the Pearl Coalition will launch a campaign to begin building a replica of a 19th century ship that holds a special place in both DC and national history.

The story begins in 1848, when a group of free African American Washingtonians chartered a schooner called the Pearl to convey 77 escaped slaves from bondage. Captained by a white man and carrying people mostly of African descent, the Pearl set off in the dark of night and sailed south toward the Chesapeake. But after hitting bad weather and anchoring to wait out a storm, all 77 people were captured in Southern Maryland.

The group was returned to Washington and most of the 77 people were sold back into slavery. But the event became a turning point for the abolitionist movement and helped inspire a series of congressional and presidential actions that laid the foundation for the emancipation of slaves in DC. And ultimately, the failed escape became one of the catalysts for the end of slavery in the entire United States.

Meanwhile, those aboard the Pearl continue to exemplify the strength and will of local African Americans who risked their lives to free their families, and whose actions represent a hidden history of our city.

This important piece of local DC history is now coming to life through the building of a schooner replica called the Spirit of the Pearl, thanks to the Pearl Coalition. Headed by David Smith, the Pearl Coalition was originally founded in 2001 by Smith’s late grandfather, Lloyd D. Smith, and Dan Nachtigal.

This video explains the philosophy of The Pearl Coalition. Note that the ship featured in the video will no longer be used; instead the replica is being built from scratch.

Lloyd Smith spent decades working in community development and held key DC government positions in community services and planning departments. He was also the founding Chair and, then, Acting President of the National Capital Revitalization Corporation and its subsidiary the RLA Revitalization Corporation, as well as the Executive Director of the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization.

While involved in the development of the Southwest Waterfront in the late 1970s, Smith discovered the history of the Pearl and, finding that little was written about the boat or the escape, began digging to uncover the full story. In turn, he used that story to help empower young Washingtonians—at a time when the city faced a litany of social problems—by connecting them with DC’s important historic legacy.

Now, his grandson David Smith is harnessing the story of the Pearl to educate young people (through Visual & Media Arts and literacy programs, among others); move money and ownership back to the local community; and create awareness of African American history.

A painting by a student participant of the Pearl Coalition‘s Visual Arts Program.

Smith also hopes to spark conversation about slavery and its ongoing cultural legacy in the US, while educating “visitors on the array of racial, social, economic factors, [and] contributions of the people and places involved in the Pearl escape, and the inner workings of the Underground Railroad.”

The coalition has partnered with a naval architect and a boat builder, as well as The Richardson Museum at Cambridge (MD), whose team boasts more than 100 years of collective experience in building and managing schooners. Soon, the coalition will also engage more than 1,000 local residents, students and other volunteers to facilitate the building of the Spirit of The Pearl. The boat will be 69 feet long and will be 100% custom built.

Both during construction and after completion, the schooner will serve as a living classroom and museum. Eventually it will be docked on the Southwest Waterfront.The Pearl Coalition will kick off the construction of the Spirit of the Pearl on August 1st.

To donate to the coalition or to volunteer in the building of the schooner, please visit the organization’s website here. To learn more about the Pearl Coalition’s educational, workforce development, arts and shipbuilding programs, click here.

From The Pearl Coalition

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This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/african_american_history_comes_to_life_through_dcs_pearl_coalition/10123